These homemade power bars are absolutely delicious, filling, and they're packed with protein, healthy unsaturated fats, fiber and antioxidant. They take little time to make and you can vary the ingredients to satisfy the personal taste, be creative and enjoy!

Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Stir together the ground flaxseed and the water in a small bowl and let soak for 10 minutes until it forms a gel.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, dried Chinese red dates, and roasted pepitas.

In a separate medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave the sesame paste, inverted sugar syrup, and vanilla for 30 seconds. Stir together until well mixed. Add the banana and mash with a fork to combine. Stir in the gelatinized flax mixture.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Press the mixture firmly into a lightly greased 20x22-cm baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove and cool in the pan on the counter for 15-20 minutes, then chill in the fridge for about 45 minutes before slicing. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days, or individually wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

I love bars with dates in the like the larabars, but this has so much more flavor, I bet it tastes great and fills you up! I will have to look for the red dates the next time I go to our Asian market....would love to try this.

Next to cranberries, dates are one of my favorite dried fruits! Next to the dates in there, the flax seed and the sesame paste ingredients really makes me want to taste these. Very creative as well as unique snack-well done!

I love these power bars, so different from all the others. I sure could use a nice batch to keep around for my mid-afternoon snack...guess I'll just have to get all the ingredients and make some...yumm!

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